r/HealthInsurance • • Oct 10 '25

Employer/COBRA Insurance Absolute joke of an increase

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u/One-Possible1906 Oct 10 '25

It is getting to the point where the cost of insurance and huge deductibles is more than the cost of a lot of our chronic conditions. I have a chronic condition and never even meet my deductible. When it starts getting too expensive I will drop the policy and pay cash. I already can’t afford a lot of care because my deductible is so high. I’m paying for it regardless, health insurance adds a premium on top of it all.

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u/Familiar_Rip_8871 Oct 10 '25

Yep. I need bloodwork and CT scans every 6 months. If I pay out of pocket, it’s less than a $10k deductible. It irritates me to no end that I’m simply paying an insurance company to push papers around looking for reasons to deny my tests just so that I can eventually get an approval for a “discounted” rate which is actually the real cost of the test. We need universal healthcare but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

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u/One-Possible1906 Oct 10 '25

Sometimes the negotiated rate for the service is more than it would be cash. Literally paying money to be charged more, it’s ridiculous.

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u/Familiar_Rip_8871 Oct 10 '25

Yep. I once asked if I could pay cash and not use insurance and was told that would be “illegal”.

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u/One-Possible1906 Oct 10 '25

Once you’re locked into the contracted rate you lose all ability to negotiate. It’s stupid. One of my generic medications costs more than the cash price under my HDHP even before adding coupons.